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Alcohol May Protect Trauma Patients from Later Complications

posted by martyb on Friday June 06 2014, @11:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the one-for-the-road dept.

martyb writes:

According to a study published in the June issue of the journal Alcohol, it appears that Alcohol may protect trauma patients from later complications.

From the article:

Injured patients who have alcohol in their blood have a reduced risk for developing cardiac and renal complications, according to a study from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Among patients who did develop complications, those with alcohol in their blood were less likely to die.

"After an injury, if you are intoxicated there seems to be a substantial protective effect," says UIC injury epidemiologist Lee Friedman, author of the study. "But we don't fully understand why this occurs."

In patients who had alcohol in their blood, cardiac complications were reduced by 23.5 percent. Renal complications were reduced by 30 percent.

As alcohol impairs one's ability to avoid traumatic injury (like a car accident), not drinking sounds like the real win. But, if you are in an accident, the booze seemed to help with your chances to survive.

 
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  • (Score: 1) by Paradise Pete on Monday June 09 2014, @11:10AM

    by Paradise Pete (1806) on Monday June 09 2014, @11:10AM (#53182)

    Matches folklore that I've heard -- the drunk causes the accident and gets off with minimal injuries...while the innocent and sober people in the other car are not so lucky.

    I saw this first-hand about 30 years ago. I was driving through central Nebraska at night. The divided highway was unlit, and except for my headlights it was as dark as I've ever seen. Up ahead in the road something didn't seem quite right. I couldn't really see anything specific, but it just looked "wrong." So I slowed down. As I got closer I could see that something was in my lane. When I finally reached it I could see that an old cream-colored heavy station wagon was stopped dead, with no lights on. I had that old-style bench seating in the front, and that seat was thrown up against the steering wheel and dashboard, hiding the interior.

    Now in front of the car I could see that an old pick-up truck heading the other way had veered of the road, traveled all the way across the enormous median (at least 200 feet), and slammed head-on into the station wagon. The couple in the car were killed on impact. The driver of the pickup was just sitting in the seat with the door open, while a still-foaming half can of beer lay on the road near the door. He was about as drunk as a human can get, and seemed almost oblivious to what had happened.